Week 2 : The Breast Milk Microbiome and its role in health Flashcards
List the benefits of breast milk.
- Contains vitamins and minerals
- Is always available
- Offers protections from certain infections
- Helps improve your baby’s long term health
Define a microbiome.
A naturally occurring community of microbial organisms occupying a major habitat.
How many bacterial strains are there in milk?
More than 200
List 6 benefits associated with breastfeeding and gut health.
- Produces essential compounds inc. short chain fatty acids
- Enhances immune function
- Prevents pathogenic infections
- Digests human milk oligosaccharides
- Reduces inflammation in the gut
- Maintains gut barrier integrity
What does Bifidobacterium longum release into the infant gut?
ILA
What is the purpose of ILA?
- ILA binds to developing T cells
- This triggers development of a T cell that tolerates harmless stimuli from the environment
What happens in the infant gut without ILA binding?
The cell evolves into an adult T cell class hyper sensitive to new stimuli,
i.e. dust, food or the infants’ developing tissue
What is the issue with mothers storing their breast milk?
Lacks beneficial bacteria due to the exposure to oxygen which compromises the microbiome.
What percentage of mothers store their breast milk?
85%
What is the issue with mothers taking antibiotics during Caesarean sections?
Antibiotics impair the breast milk microbiome
What are the WHO recommendations for breastfeeding?
- Breast feed exclusively for the first 6 months
- With complementary foods for 2+ years
How is the concept of breastfeeding neglected in health research?
- Poor research
- Insufficient funding
- Breast milk was excluded from projects such as the $215M Human Microbiome Project.
- Technical challenges such as limited DNA content in breast milk complicating analyses.
